Thane, Oct. 29 -- Traffic on Ghodbunder Road began returning to normal around 5 am on Wednesday, seven hours after hundreds of supporters of slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar's family blocked the arterial road, burning tyres and bringing thousands of vehicles to a standstill overnight. The protesters were demanding the arrest of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde for their alleged involvement in Purnekar's murder on September 29. The blockade began around 10 pm on Tuesday, with protesters occupying Ghodbunder Road at several locations, including Majiwada, Balkum, Manpada and Mulla Baug. Traffic on the Mumbai- and Thane-bound stretches came to a complete halt, with queues of vehicles stretching for 20 kilometres-from the Versova Bridge in Mira-Bhayandar up to the Virar border. The agitation ended around 5 am on Wednesday after the Thane police resorted to a lathi charge against some protesters at Manpada to clear the road. However, the disruption continued well into the morning as vehicles stranded since Tuesday night continued to pass through the affected areas, causing further congestion. Ghodbunder Road, the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, the Thane-Panvel route and several locations in Mumbra continued to witness traffic snarls. It wasn't until 11 am that traffic conditions started improving. Abhishek Chendwane, a resident of Bhayander Pada on Ghodbunder Road, spent seven hours trying to get home. "I reached Thane at 10 pm. By 12.30 am, I had reached Manpada. After getting stuck in the traffic jam, I took a turn at Manpada and then travelled via Kolshet, Vasant Vihar and Brahmand before finally reaching home at around 5 am. During my drive, I saw many people walking on the road at night, including women and children," he said. The presence of heavy vehicles compounded the chaos on Ghodbunder Road, a crucial freight corridor connecting Mumbai and the JNPA port to Gujarat via the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway. M Salman, a truck driver transporting goods from Hazira in Gujarat to Patalganga near Panvel, reached Vasai at 10 pm on Tuesday but arrived at his destination only at 4 pm on Wednesday. "From 10 pm to 6 am, my truck didn't move a single inch," he said. "By the time I reached Panvel, I was fully exhausted." Pankaj Shirsat, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Thane, said the protesters were aware of all the diversions on Ghodbunder Road. "Whenever we opened a diversion, they reached the spot and blocked it. The protesters brought traffic to a standstill until 4 am on Wednesday. By 11 am, we were able to clear the traffic," he said. Jaynath Purnekar, brother of the slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said his family had not planned the protest. "When we did not receive any positive response from the police, our supporters became angry and began protesting by blocking traffic. When we learnt about it, we went and requested the protesters to stop the agitation and allow vehicles to pass," he said. The blockade followed a day of confrontation between the Purnekar family's supporters and the police. On Tuesday, Purnekar's son Ram attempted to march towards deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde's Thane residence, demanding the arrest of Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde. Police detained him at Naupada police station for around eight hours, prompting hundreds of supporters to gather outside. When Ram was released around 9.30 pm, supporters headed towards Ghodbunder Road at Manpada and began blocking traffic. Pradeep Purnekar, a Shiv Sena (UBT) ward chief, was shot and hacked to death in his Manpada office by at least four masked assailants on September 29. Police have arrested five people in connection with the murder: Purnekar's former aide Papya Shinde, Nikhil Yadav, Nitin Pawar, Santosh Kanaujiya and Amit Singh. While Rajendra and Meenakshi Shinde have been questioned multiple times, Purnekar's family have continued to demand their arrest, accusing the couple of being the masterminds who orchestrated the entire murder conspiracy due to political rivalry. The murder has become a flashpoint between the two Shiv Sena factions, not least because it occurred in Thane, long considered Eknath Shinde's political stronghold. Since splitting the party in 2022, Shinde has consolidated his faction's dominance in the city, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) has struggled to regain ground. Purnekar's killing has now become a rallying point for the Thackeray faction, which has become aggressive and is targeting Shinde directly. On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut announced that he, Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Parab would visit Thane on Thursday to support the Purnekars' demand for justice. "All police officers are on the payroll of Thane's guardian minister, Eknath Shinde. That's why the police are not taking any action," he said. In response, Thane MP and Shiv Sena leader Naresh Mhaske said his party's workers will give a befitting reply if the opposition continues to drag Shinde into the controversy. "The opposition could not defeat us in the polls, so they are using this to corner us. We will not tolerate any attempt to target Shinde saheb," he said....